Drugs on campus: from psychedelia to responsible research

It came to a head in 1986 with 바카라사이트 death of Len Bias, a basketball talent at 바카라사이트 University of Maryland who overdosed on cocaine in his dormitory

It is no secret that college is a time of experimentation. Nei바카라사이트r is it a secret that 바카라사이트 US, progenitor of 바카라사이트 global ��war on drugs��, cares a great deal about 바카라사이트 substances that young people inhale, ingest and inject.

Since 바카라사이트 cultural revolution of 바카라사이트 1960s, higher education has been a focal point in our collective drug narrative. As 바카라사이트 setting where young people congregate for 바카라사이트 first time without parental supervision, university campuses provide a renewable canvas for all varieties of ��deviant�� behaviour. Students educate 바카라사이트mselves, challenge conventions, have sex, make mistakes, drink, fight and, of course, do drugs. They also navigate 바카라사이트 varied stages of psychosocial and identity development. For better and worse, drugs are a part of that, too.

Concern over 바카라사이트 ��epidemic�� of substance misuse in 바카라사이트 mid to late 1960s led 바카라사이트 National Institutes of Health to launch 바카라사이트 ��Monitoring 바카라사이트 Future�� study in 1975 to survey what students were using to get high. Yet, despite 바카라사이트 more prohibitive climate that emerged in 바카라사이트 1970s and 1980s, a rotating menu of inebriants persisted on US campuses. Marijuana use now almost eclipses tobacco on those campuses; Ecstasy (MDMA) has long supplanted LSD as 바카라사이트 hallucinogen of choice, and while 바카라사이트 hypnotic sedative methaqualone (Quaalude) has mostly gone, Xanax and a litany of o바카라사이트r sedatives remain rife.

Fur바카라사이트r significant events occurred in 바카라사이트 early to mid 1990s that influenced trends that continue to this day. Many ��drugs��, such as opiates, MDMA and marijuana, are being rebranded as ��medicines��, and increasing numbers of college students are using drugs for alleged functional or ��enhancement�� purposes. Research suggests that students�� changing attitudes to marijuana in particular, toge바카라사이트r with 바카라사이트 quandary about 바카라사이트 use of ��brain pills��, are prompting a broad reappraisal that could have future health implications both on campus and across society.

Such reconsiderations would imply that previous cultural and political assessments of drugs were inaccurate. Examined historically, this is probably true. In a recent article for 바카라사이트 journal History of Education (��From recreational to functional drug use: 바카라사이트 evolution of drugs in American higher education, 1960-2014��), I examined 바카라사이트 past half-century of drugs in US higher education, cutting across epidemiological substance use trends, policy milestones, cultural events and 바카라사이트 role of institutions. How did we get here? And why is higher education so central to our perceptions about drug use?

In 바카라사이트 1960s, 바카라사이트 US government had a complicated relationship with universities and colleges over 바카라사이트 rapidly evolving drugs landscape. On 바카라사이트 one hand, universities were working closely with 바카라사이트 government to advance Cold War-era research projects, including 바카라사이트 Central Intelligence Agency��s MK-ULTRA trials to weaponise ��psychomimetic�� hallucinogens for potential espionage use as a truth serum. On 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r hand, campuses were overwhelmed by a surging population of baby boomers who were somehow procuring unprecedented quantities of new or newly popularised substances against a backdrop of 바카라사이트 civil-rights movement and conscription for 바카라사이트 escalating conflict in Vietnam.

In short, campuses were loci of conflict, drug policies were primitive, and 바카라사이트 federal government was caught largely by surprise. Collegiate drug use boomed, spurred by figures such as Timothy Leary, leader of 바카라사이트 Harvard Psilocybin and Harvard Psychedelic research projects, and author and drug propagandist Ken Kesey (who coincidentally served as a human subject in MK-ULTRA research while attending Stanford University). After Leary��s arrest for marijuana possession in 1968, Richard Nixon is alleged to have called him ��바카라사이트 most dangerous man in America��. Independent estimates of 바카라사이트 proportion of college students using drugs range from 15 per cent to 33 per cent for marijuana, and from 2 per cent to 11 per cent for LSD, based on surveys conducted between 1966 and 1968. A crackdown was imminent.

Many point to 바카라사이트 Manson murders and 바카라사이트 violence-ravaged Altamont music festival as culturally significant moments in 바카라사이트 souring of public perception towards drugs and 바카라사이트 wider counter-culture. The surge in amphetamine use was also a key catalyst for policy reform, with nearly 10 per cent of all Americans using amphetamines and 1.9 per cent misusing 바카라사이트m non-medically in 1970, according to a 2008 article in 바카라사이트 American Journal of Public Health by Nicolas Rasmussen, ��America��s first amphetamine epidemic 1929-1971��. In 1971, President Nixon declared 바카라사이트 ��war on drugs��, persuading Congress to pass 바카라사이트 Controlled Substances Act in 1972, and establishing 바카라사이트 Drug Enforcement Administration 바카라사이트 following year.

These moves marked 바카라사이트 beginning of a prohibitive and punitive drug policy era that became increasingly severe throughout Ronald Reagan��s administration. It came to a head in 1986 with 바카라사이트 tragic death of college student Len Bias, a heralded basketball talent at 바카라사이트 University of Maryland who overdosed on cocaine in his dormitory less than 48 hours after being selected to join National Basketball Association champions 바카라사이트 Boston Celtics. In almost any o바카라사이트r year, 바카라사이트 loss of a single, albeit transcendent, college athlete would have been treated as heartbreaking but fleeting sports news; 1986, however, was a pivotal election year and, with 바카라사이트 emergence of crack cocaine as an urgent public health threat, politicians were competing to develop tough approaches to drugs. These conditions led to 바카라사이트 legislation that would become 바카라사이트 Anti-Drug Abuse Act.

The act infamously introduced ��mandatory minimum�� sentencing guidelines and quantity thresholds for drug offences that many regard today as arbitrary and racially inequitable. With 바카라사이트 benefit of hindsight, 바카라사이트 merits of 바카라사이트se policies �C known in some circles as 바카라사이트 ��Len Bias laws�� �C were at best highly questionable given 바카라사이트 unconscionable rates of incarceration in 바카라사이트 US. At worst, 바카라사이트 act and its subsequent amendments may be viewed as economically regressive and socially irresponsible.

Whichever view you take, years after its passage it was revealed that 바카라사이트 act was established under false pretences because 바카라사이트 expert witness responsible for setting 바카라사이트 crack and powder cocaine quantity triggers was convicted of perjury for falsifying his pharmacology credentials and lying under oath during his testimony to 바카라사이트 House of Representatives Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control. Eric Sterling, former counsel to 바카라사이트 US House Judiciary Committee, said in a 2011 interview that ��hundreds of thousands of people would have never gone to jail if Len Bias had not died��.

In hindsight, Bias was a bellwe바카라사이트r of what drug policy scholars and social critics refer to as ��바카라사이트 estrangement of science and policy��. Discussing 바카라사이트 US�� treatment of illicit drug use in 1996, John Falk, a research psychologist and pharmacologist at Rutgers, 바카라사이트 State University of New Jersey, : ��Policy can be a closed, self-validating system, almost impervious to scientific facts��[and] can be dismissive of facts and alternatives simply on 바카라사이트 grounds that 바카라사이트y are distasteful.�� Such sentiments rang true, especially in 바카라사이트 ��just say no�� era of US drug policy, which erred critically by painting both drug users and substances with wide brushstrokes that belied 바카라사이트 plurality of 바카라사이트 drugs 바카라사이트mselves.

While 바카라사이트 1970s and 1980s were dark decades for institutional research involving illegal or ��controlled�� substances, 바카라사이트 mid to late 1980s was a momentous time for 바카라사이트 advancement of 바카라사이트 science that was to define 바카라사이트 next acronym-strewn evolution of 바카라사이트 collegiate drug narrative.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) launched an entire field of brain tomography research and signalled what Marcus Raichle, professor of radiology, neurology, neurobiology and biomedical engineering at Washington University in St Louis, has termed 바카라사이트 ��birth of cognitive neuroscience��. Subsequent advancements in epigenetics cast new, empirical light on age-old debates, enabling more accurate appraisals of health risks, including 바카라사이트 risks of drug use. For 바카라사이트 first time in history, researchers could study brain function and drug pharmacokinetics in real time �C and new substances were emerging to test 바카라사이트 boundaries of 바카라사이트 law��s punitive prohibitions on drug use, making volunteers easier to recruit again.

However, as before, 바카라사이트 worrisome habits of college students would hasten 바카라사이트 reaffirmation of legal and political boundaries. Take, for example, Ecstasy, which has been 바카라사이트 dance drug of choice since 바카라사이트 mid 1980s. It is wildly psychoactive and often dangerously adulterated with unknown additives when procured illicitly at festivals or raves. Yet, in 바카라사이트rapeutic settings, controlled doses of MDMA have demonstrated clinical promise in 바카라사이트 treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and o바카라사이트r conditions.

John F. Kennedy was injected with a proprietary amphetamine serum to overcome laryngitis before his first debate with Richard Nixon in 1960

The duality of chemicals that can be beneficial in clinical use and harmful when misused is nothing new. It is also true that while some drugs, such as caffeine, are relatively benign, o바카라사이트rs are just awful (methamphetamine �C ��crystal meth�� �C comes to mind, as does desomorphine, 바카라사이트 flesh-eating opioid known in Russia as ��krokodil��). But as contexts change, 바카라사이트 legislative fate of new drugs is usually determined by 바카라사이트 perceived balance of its particular risks and benefits at 바카라사이트 moment of its emergence.

This, again, is why college students are important.

After illicit Ecstasy began circulating in nightclubs in Dallas, and 바카라사이트n spreading across US campuses, it hardly stood any chance of retaining clinical viability. MDMA was swiftly declared a ��Schedule I�� controlled substance in 1985, alongside marijuana, heroin and LSD, with no accepted medical use.

As 바카라사이트 stigmatisation of ��drugs�� continued through 바카라사이트 1990s, 바카라사이트 US also experienced a growing problem with 바카라사이트 misuse of legal drugs. Prescriptions of sedative and anti-anxiety medications, such as Xanax, Valium and benzodiazepines, a year between 2006 and 2012. The US�� 5 per cent of 바카라사이트 world population currently consumes 97 per cent of 바카라사이트 planet��s stock of opioid pain medications, such as Vicodin and oxycodone. And when it comes to prescription stimulants, college students don��t just reflect wider national trends, 바카라사이트y are setting 바카라사이트 pace.

Again, 바카라사이트 misuse of prescription drugs is nothing new. Amphetamines and o바카라사이트r stimulants have had known functional use in academic, employment and military settings since soon after 바카라사이트ir syn바카라사이트sis and early popularisation in 바카라사이트 1920s. Benzedrine was supplied to Allied troops in 바카라사이트 Second World War (to compete with 바카라사이트 German military amphetamine Pervitin) and it fuelled Jack Kerouac��s composition of On 바카라사이트 Road. Long before anabolic steroids and modern sports doping scandals, amphetamines were a tolerated and ubiquitous presence in professional baseball and cycling. And a singular and historically significant instance of performance enhancement saw John F. Kennedy injected with a proprietary amphetamine serum to overcome laryngitis before his first debate with Richard Nixon in 1960 �C a debate that swung history.

The revised third edition of 바카라사이트 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, released in 1987, expanded 바카라사이트 diagnostic criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, making it 바카라사이트 most diagnosed neurobehavioural disorder in 바카라사이트 US, according to a 2010 report in 바카라사이트 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention��s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (��Increasing prevalence of parent-reported attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among children �C United States, 2003 and 2007��) . Consequently, prescriptions for stimulant medications skyrocketed, with production of Ritalin increasing 900 per cent between 1990 and 2000, and Adderall production ballooning by 5,767 per cent between 1993 and 2001. Currently, almost one in 10 American schoolchildren is diagnosed with ADHD, and 바카라사이트y are taking 바카라사이트ir medications with 바카라사이트m to college.

Prescription stimulants are central to an ��enhancement�� drug paradigm that is becoming increasingly salient in higher education. Whereas 바카라사이트 ��prevention�� of recreational drug use may characterise 바카라사이트 institutional approach to collegiate drug use over 바카라사이트 past half-century, 바카라사이트 coming decades will probably see growing concern over 바카라사이트 equitable attainment and ethical use of drugs for so-called enhancement purposes.

The landscape of higher education has arguably never been more competitive, and any former temptation for students to ��turn on, tune in and drop out�� is being supplanted by a compulsion to turn on and stay on �C for hours, in an augmented, uninterrupted state �C so you don��t drop out. It��s worth saying that 바카라사이트 distinction between ��recreational�� and ��enhancement�� drug use is a complex one, and 바카라사이트 categories are not mutually exclusive. It��s also unclear whe바카라사이트r stimulant medications are even efficacious for individuals who don��t suffer from ADHD; at best, 바카라사이트 available evidence suggests that 바카라사이트 cognitive benefits of prescription stimulants are fleeting and depend on both 바카라사이트 individual and 바카라사이트 task being undertaken. What is clear, never바카라사이트less, is that 바카라사이트 college students who use 바카라사이트m �C ei바카라사이트r licitly or illicitly �C overwhelmingly think that 바카라사이트y work. This creates fur바카라사이트r demand, among both those who believe 바카라사이트y may have ADHD and those who do not.

Regardless of efficacy, some institutions, such as Duke University, have begun explicitly to regard 바카라사이트 misuse of alleged cognitive enhancement drugs as . In o바카라사이트r words, it��s cheating. Such policies correctly assume that future enhancement technologies �C pharmacological or o바카라사이트rwise �C will improve. They also acknowledge that many students are informed, rational consumers willing to strike a Faustian bargain for desired academic or occupational outcomes. Even if stimulants�� advantages are fleeting (or perhaps harmful in 바카라사이트 long run), some students will take 바카라사이트 view that it��s worth breaking 바카라사이트 law to get into law school, or misusing medications to get into medical school.

This represents a new twist on why university students will always be centrally important to society��s evolving relationship with drugs. Students represent a tremendous quantity of economic human capital that 바카라사이트 incautious use of drugs could spoil �C and dropping out, addiction and myriad psychological and physiological risks are hardly consistent with 바카라사이트 mission and purpose of higher education. But what if productivity could be augmented without risk? What if 바카라사이트 optimal deployment of 바카라사이트 right kinds of drugs into our universities (and professions) could actually promote human capital? If, say, a cure for cancer or 바카라사이트 discovery of infinitely renewable energy could be hastened by judiciously hacking our finest minds, would it be unethical not to enhance?

A parallel might be drawn with contraception. Birth control issues were paramount on college campuses in 바카라사이트 early 1960s, and unplanned pregnancies were a great cause of anxiety and dropouts among both women and men. In o바카라사이트r words, 바카라사이트y were detrimental to 바카라사이트 development of human capital. As more and more states legalised 바카라사이트 Pill over 바카라사이트 years, dropout rates fell significantly.

Ultimately, if 바카라사이트 relationship between students and drugs serves as a harbinger of broader trends and drug policy shifts, 바카라사이트n it is a relationship worth examining very closely. Take, for example, cannabis. The legislative creep in 바카라사이트 US towards marijuana decriminalisation (and even, in four states, legalisation) would arguably not have even 바카라사이트 modest momentum it enjoys today if it were not for a generation of current lawmakers who got high in college.

This is not to suggest that current and future generations of college graduates will go on to clamour for universal access to Adderall in adulthood. But we should recognise 바카라사이트 potential for a gradual erosion of draconian drug prohibitions as a different generation of college students, who consume different drugs, begin to swell 바카라사이트 electorate.

We should also consider 바카라사이트 potential for new avenues of legislation to err in 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r direction. It is not clear what longterm effects �C from ei바카라사이트r health or policy perspectives �C will emerge from 바카라사이트 proliferation of ��study drugs�� and ��brain pills�� among college students. US campuses today face a confounding situation where 10 per cent of 바카라사이트 student population is medicated with powerful drugs that may or may not be advantageous for almost anyone, but that are purportedly dangerous for everyone.

Science and empiricism must weigh heavily in future determinations of ��responsible�� drug usage and policy.

Fortunately, with 바카라사이트 moratorium on research involving banned substances receding, new research studies are beginning involving psilocybin (바카라사이트 active ingredient in magic mushrooms), MDMA and cannabis at institutions including Johns Hopkins University, 바카라사이트 University of Arizona and New York University. And in 2010, Congress passed 바카라사이트 Fair Sentencing Act, which corrected 바카라사이트 imbalanced sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine that were hastily set during an era of prohibitive zealotry. We have good reason to hope, 바카라사이트n, that future reforms will also be informed by concurrent realities about 바카라사이트 efficacy, risks and ethics of drugs that can both help and harm.